of milwaukee



June 2, 1931. F. w. FUCHS 1,807,782

COUPLING MEMBER FOR CONDUIT RODS, PUMP RODS, ETC

Filed March 5, 1930 w Z5 Z2 Z4 FIE 5 M ,4? 7 Z2 Z4 Zutzm/ w aw/LU M W MMPatented June 2, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK W. FUCHS, OFMILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIG-NOR TO TURBINE SEWER MACHINE COMPANY, 013MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN COUPLING-MEMBER FORCONDUIT RODS, PUMP RODS, ETC.

Application filed March 3,

This invention relates to improvements in coupling members for conduitrods, pump rods, etc.

The object of this invention is to provide means whereby such'rods maybe formed in short sections which are adapted to be hingedly coupled oruncoupled at the top of a manhole and fed vertically to the conduitthrough the manhole and thence along the conduit to the next manholewithout buckling or unhooking in the conduit.

In general, the object is to provide a coupling which will permit therod sections to be fed into a sewer or conduit with substantially thesame facility that a chain might be similarly manipulated but which maybe pushed lengthwise of the conduit with the same facility that acontinuous rod of equal length could be pushed horizontally through atube.

More particularly stated, it is my object to provide coupling memberswhich require the rod sections to be adjusted at an acute angle to eachother to initiate their connection and which, after such a connectionhas been initiated, may be swung toward a position of alignment andmutually guided into an abutting non-buckling relation to each otherwherein motion may be transmitted lineally without permitting materialmovement of the parts upon each other under push and pull operations.The rod sections when completely coupled, are in one way hinge jointconnection with each other wlth abutting surfaces obliquely placed andtending to normally resist flexion in the only direction in'which thejoint can be flexed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary'view of two conduit rod sections e uipped withmy improved mutually interloc ing coupling members showing the same asthey appear when detached.

Figure 2 is a view of the same as they appear when initiating a couplingoperation, with dotted lines indicating an intermediate positionoccupied by one of the sections while eing swung to full couplingposition.

Figure 3 illustrates the sections as they ap- 50 pear when fullycoupled.

1930. Serial No. 432,604.

Like parts are identified by the same refi erence characters throughoutthe several vlews.

The rod section 10 has one end'prov ided with a cap 12 having flanges 13which embrace the end portion of the rod to which iliey are secured by aconnecting pin or rivet On the opposite side of the cap 12 from thatoccupied by the flanges 13 it is provided with a'pair of fork arms 15intermediately connected by an obliquely flattened hinge pin 17 thepreferable cross sectional contour of which is clearly indicated bydotted lines in Figure 3. The hinge pin 17 is located substantiallymidway between the cap 12 and the extremities of the fork arms 15 andthese extremities are provided with inwardly projecting studs 18. Thegap between these studs is substantially equal in width to the thicknessof the web portion 20 of the coupling member now to be described.

The companion coupling member comprises a cap 21 similar to the cap 12and having flanges 22 similarly secured to the rod section 23 by a crosspin or rivet 24. The web 20' projects from the opposite side of the cap21 from that occupied by the flanges 22 and is provided with a headpiece 25 at the outer end of the web 20.

One margin of the web 20 is provided with a bearing socket 26 into whichthe hinge pin or cross piece 17 may be received. The'recess extendsinwardly from the margin of the Web with an oblique pitch in thedirection of the cap 21 and the inner face or bottom of the recess isrounded in general correspondence to the rounded surface of the hingepin 17 Between the bearing socket 26 and the ca plate 21, the socketedmargin of the web 20 is thickened to provide what maybe convenientlytermed a shoulder 28 from which curved finger-like guiding abutments orflanges 29 extend along the base of the bearing socket 26 to guide thestuds 18 into coupling engagement as hereinafter explained. Betweenthese flanges 29 and the cap plate 21, the shoulder 28 is provided, oneach side of the web, with a socket 30 to receive the studs 18 when thelatter are in coupling position.

The outer side of the head piece 25 has an oblique bearing face 83, andat its inner side, on each side of the web 20, it is provided with arounded recess 3st to initially receive the studs 18 when the membersare being assembled. I

At the side opposite the bearing socket 26, the outer end portion of theweb 20 is preferably widened or provided with a triangular flange whichsupports an offset portion of the head piece at this side of thecoupling. This portion of the head piece is adapted to abut anoppositely disposed similarly supported stop 3? connected with the cap12' The face of the cap 12, between the fork arms 15, is obliquelydisposed to receive the oblique face 38 of the head piece 25, and theoffset portions 36 and 3! will not only resist fleXion of the couplingon that side, but the oblique position of said faces tend to preventfiexion in the opposite direction.

To couple the sections together, it is first necessary to adj nst themat an acute angle to each other, with the studs 18 embracing the web 20partially within the head sockets 34c. Thereupon, the section 10 may beswung upon the hinge pin 17 as ind'cated by dotted lines in Figure 2 tocause the studs 18 to travel along the web 20 and be guided by thefinger flanges 29 to the sockets 30. In the meantime the head piece 25will have a relative movement between the fork arms 15 until the noseit) enters the space between the hinge pin 17 and the cap plate 12,where upon the oblique face of the cap piece and the face 3 3 of thehead piece 25 will be brought into contact, thus completing thecoupling.

\Vhen the coupling has thus been completed, the parts cannot beuncoupled while in a conduit of such din'iensions as to prevent themfrom being swung relatively to the acute angle at which they appear inFigure 2. By having the studs 18 so located that they bear upon theguiding surfaces of the shoul' der piece 28 when the face 33 of the headpiece is in abutting contact with the opposing surface of the cap 12,lost motion, or relative movement of the parts upon each other duringthe axial movements of the push rod may be prevented.

I claim:

1. A coupling of the described class, comprising the combination with aforked memher having inwardly facing end studs and an intermediate hingepin, of a web member provided with a bearing socket for said pin andhaving a head piece adapted to engage between the fork arms in the spacebetween the pin and the crown of the fork, said web having a shoulderpiece socketed on opposite sides of the web member to receive saidstuds.

2. A coupling of the described class, comprising the combination with aforked memher having inwardly facing end studs and an intermediate hingepin, of a web member provided with a bearing socket for said pin andhaving a head piece adapted to engage between the fork arms in the spacebetween the pin and the crown of the fork, said web having a shoulderpiece socketed on opposite sides of the web member to receive said studsfrom, a direction opposite that of head piece movement between the forkarms, the shoulder piece being provided with finger flanges flanking thebase of said bearing socket and adapted to serve as guides to facilitatemanipulating the studs into the shoulder piece sockets, and preventrelease until one coupling member has been swung to an acute anglerelatively to the other.

3. The combination of a set of conduit rod coupling members providedwith mutually engageable offset bearings, one of said coupling membershaving a set of fork arms intermediately connected by a pivot pin andthe other having bearing sockets for said pin and for the ends of thefork arms and an associated web receivable between said arms, andguiding members adapted to retain the arms in engagement except when themembers are adjusted at an acute angle to each other.

l. In a push rod coupling, a coupling member having fork arms providedwith a transverse pivot pin connecting the arms at an intermediate pointbetween the ends of the fork arms, the free extremities of the fork armshaving inwardly projecting spaced studs.

5. In a push rod coupling, a forked coupling member provided with atransverse pivot pin between the respective ends of the fork arms, theextremities of the fork arms having inwardly projecting spaced studs, incombination with a counterpart coupling member having a web adapted tobe engaged between said studs and provided with a hearing recess toreceive the pivot pin, a head piece at one end of the web receivableatthe base of said fork arms, and a shoulder por tion at the other endof the web having stud receiving sockets and retaining guide fingers toprevent release of the studs at points between the sockets and the headpiece.

In a push rod coupling, a forked coupling member provided with atransverse pivot pin between the respective ends of the fork arms, theextremities of the fork arms having inwardly projecting spaced studs, incombination with a counterpart coupling member having a web adapted tobe engaged between said studs and provided with a bearing recess toreceive the pivot pin, a head piece at one end of the web receivable between the fork arms at the head of the fork, and stud receiving socketsat the end of the web opposite the head piece, said web'being alsoprovided with curved guiding flanges adapted to prevent release of saidstud-s from the web until the coupling members are adjusted at an acuteangle to each other.

7 In a conduit coupling, a webbed member having a cap piece at one end,a head piece at the other end, an intermediate pivot socket flanked bycurved finger-like flanges, and a shoulder piece extending along the webmargin and socketed at each side thereof for interlocking engagementwith members of a cooperative coupling member.

8. The combination of a set of normally aligned, pivotally engagedcoupling members, provided with offset mutually engaging bearingspreventing movement out of alignment in one direction and havinginterlocking members movable in the opposite direction about the pivotalaxis to a position for release when one member is at an acute angle tothe other, said members being otherwise interlocked againstdisengagement.

9. The combination with a coupling member provided with fork armsintermediately connected by a cross pin and having their freeextremities provided with inwardly projecting aligned studssubstantially parallel to the cross pin, a cooperative coupling memberhaving a web adapted to fit between said studs, and a head piece on theweb adapted to pass between the fork arms in the space between the crosspin and the connected ends of said arms, said web having at its otherend a thickened cap-like portion socketed to receive the studs when themembers are aligned, and the web being also provided with anintermediate socket in position to register with and receive the crosspin when the members are aligned.

FREDERICK W. FUCHS.

